The invention concerns a method for cooling a roller device, which consists of a right bearing housing, a left bearing housing, and a roller, which is rotatably supported by journals in the bearing housings, especially of strand guide rolls, roller table rollers, pinch rolls, support rolls, or driving rolls in continuous casting plants, in which a cooling medium is passed through an axial bore in the roller. The invention also concerns a roller device.
DE 42 07 042 C1 describes a device for the coupling of the cooling medium conveyance of a support or pinch roll, especially for continuous casting plants, which is supported by means of journals in bearing blocks by roller bearings and through which a cooling medium flows through axial bores in the journals. To create a device of this general type with a long service life, which guarantees reliable supply and discharge of the cooling medium with a structurally simple design in a way that allows easy maintenance, it is proposed that each bearing block is sealed by a cover, that the cover has a flow channel, which is connected at one end to a coolant supply and discharge and opens in the area of the journal bore at the other end, that an elastic socket is provided between the channel mouth of the cover and the bore of the roll, that the head of the socket has a seal, and that the seal is in contact with a sealing surface that is arranged coaxially with the axis of the roll.
EP 0 859 767 B1 describes a rotary passage for the cooling water feed and discharge of a guide roll in a continuous casting plant. The objective of this invention is to create a rotary passage of the aforementioned type, whose seal acting between the cover plate and the journal has a less complicated design than the seal in the previously known rotary passage. In accordance with the invention, this objective is achieved by forming the middle part of the seal as an annular, flange-shaped plastic or rubber diaphragm, whose inner edge is vulcanized on the bushing and whose outer edge is vulcanized on the flange. This rotary passage is characterized by its simple design and compact shape. It can be mounted completely on the end face of the journal. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to enlarge the axial channel of the distribution system in the cooling roll in the front end region of the journal to house parts of the seal therein. The central channel can thus have the same cross section along its whole length.
Modifications of a rotary passage are described, e.g., in EP 1 125 656 A1 and WO 99/26745.
DE 198 16 577 C1 describes a strand guide device for producing metal strands, especially steel strands, with upper and lower frames divided into segments, which are equipped with rolls, which are connected to a cooling medium supply device by connecting lines. To create a low-maintenance, leakproof connection between the rolls and the cooling medium supply device, which can be easily disconnected and reconnected on site and can be clearly assigned, it is proposed, in accordance with the invention, that the rolls are provided with sockets, whose mouths are horizontally oriented, that the sockets correspond to connecting lines, which are formed as metal tubes, which are connected at one end to the cooling medium supply device and are connected at the other end with a seal that allows leak-free axial and lateral motion between the end of the tube and the socket.
A disadvantage of the previously known designs of a roller device of this type is that the cooling medium is fed and discharged on only one side of the roll. In this regard, the cooling medium is conveyed through an axial bore in the roll to the opposite side, where it is deflected back in the opposite direction, and conveyed through an annular channel to the outlet side, from which there is a connection to a cooling and storage container.